Sen. Rodney Ellis tweeted a photo of himself wearing running shoes, saying, “I was ready to filibuster an unconstitutional gun bill, but it got pulled down.”

House Bill 1314 would make it a Class B misdemeanor if a licensed peace officer “knowingly and intentionally” illegally seizes someone’s weapon. Patrick, who sponsored the bill, said he doesn’t expect the statute to be used more than a handful of times, but said the proposal is meant to protect gun owners’ rights.

“This is not going after law enforcement, this is protecting the Second Amendment,” Patrick said.

The legislation faced strong opposition by Democrats. After hearing a version by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio; Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville and Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, Patrick opted to pull the bill down until it could be discussed further.

“I think this is one of the worst bills that I’ve seen come to the senate floor,” Uresti said.

Whitmire said the bill warranted a longer debate, not one that would begin at 6 p.m. on a Friday. “On behalf of our peace officers, you ought to spend this weekend talking to them,” he said to Patrick. Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said he was prepared to filibuster, and laced up his running shoes.

“Out of respect for the Senate,” Patrick said, “I’m happy to pull this down. I was not expecting a filibuster or a 3-hour discussion on the bill.”

HB 1314 was passed by the Texas House on May 6, and was reported favorably out of the Senate’s committee on Agriculture, Rural Affairs and Homeland Security this week.